Fish, Eat, Drink and be Mary

The New Blue Babies

2011-12-19T10:09:00.002-05:00

I have two new girls to add to the family. They are purebred Ameraucana chickens and are the sweetest, gentlest chickens I've ever owned. They will lay pure blue eggs (once they start laying eggs). This breed comes in different color variations but my favorite is what is referred to as "blue" which is what these babies are. Belle is on the left and Abigail on the right. As they get old enough to lay eggs, I will be replacing the others who are a bit too much for me to handle, with more Ameraucana's. I think there is a huge difference between pure bred, locally raised and the baby chicks you buy through a mail order house or get at the local feed supply store (which came from a mail order house). There is no comparison to the difference in their personalites and gentle and calm demeanor compared to the others who are just hyper and amazingly destructive.

I know there is a pecking order but the bigger hens are just plain mean and obnoxious to these blue babies so their days are numbered here. They are not quite a year old themselves, so I will have no problem finding them a home since the city ordinance in Sarasota has been passed to allow backyard chickens.

Follow up: Belle laid her first egg and it's a beauty!

It's Sand Sculpting Season Again!

2011-11-06T08:51:00.002-05:00

This year the Siesta Key Crystal Classic is hosting the World Championship Doubles Division of sand sculpting for 2011. There is no specific theme so you can make whatever you want. Here are some of the entries and the winner.

And The Winner Is

Art in the Streets

2011-11-05T17:08:00.001-04:00

The Chalk Festival has decended upon Sarasota once again and the streets are filling up with chalk paintings of enormous proportions, some taking up nearly a city block! This year a new aspect of the chalk festival was added called Going Vertical. It includes numerous works of art on walls around town and not just on the streets. The artists come to Sarasota from all over the world to compete and show off their talents as street artists. Here are some of my favorites:

The photo above is all painted onto the side of a building and what you see is all painted!

Seeing Blue Again

2011-10-29T10:06:00.001-04:00

If you've been following my blog, you will already know my passion for wild mushrooms and to be even more specific, my affinity for blue mushrooms. I posted a while back about my quest for the blue Entoloma of New Zealand but there was still one blue mushroom I still had not yet found. I'd only seen it in photos and having lived for so many years west of the Mississippi, I had no chance to ever find it unless I spent some time mushrooming in the east. Now that I am living in the east once again, I have opportunities to learn a whole new host of mushrooms I know little about and have never seen before.

Here in SW Florida, on the Gulf Coast, the Lactarius indigo mushroom is known to grow fairly regularly, but I am still learning habitat here and having a difficult time finding much of a mix in trees other than oak, oak, oak. Yes, there are some pines here and there, but they never seem to be together around where I am.

I have a favorite spot that seems to produce the most mushrooms after good soaking rains, but the one spot I'd been told does produce this blue mushroom has never produced much of anything and I'm getting tired of driving all the way there just to find nothing! So, I'd been walking around my usual haunt and finding some new and unusual species of mushrooms which I was having difficulty identifying.

Florida fungi is quite unusual for the most part because the genus and species of many of the mushrooms here are that of tropical mushrooms seen in places like Mexico and South America etc. I'd been there on a Friday photographing and hiking but decided to go back the following Tuesday to get more info on a few specimens I had seen but didn't collect. I was quite surprised to see that some of the mushrooms I'd found only a few days earlier had completely dried up and others that I wanted to collect, were just gone! I walked around in the exact same spots I'd been before and found nothing, until all of a sudden I walked into an area where I thought I had seen some baby reishi mushooms and low and behold, what did I see, but three of the most gorgeous blue mushrooms. There they were, just as plain as day, Lactarius indigo! Finally, I found them. They are just the most beautiful color although I have seen specimens in books that are very vivid colors, these were a bit more subdued. I am hoping with the good soaking rains we have had the last few days, that more will emerge and perhaps the damper, fresher specimens will be a bit darker and more vivid in color.

Lactarius is a genus of mushrooms commonly knows as milk caps (lactose = milk) and when the gills of these mushrooms are cut, they exude a milky substance or latex hence the name. This particular one exudes an indigo blue latex so that is how it got its name. These specimens were a little on the dry side so not so much latex.

Making Ricotta Cheese at Home

2011-10-19T10:55:00.001-04:00

There is really no big secret to making home made ricotta cheese. It is just milk, cream, vinegar or even buttermilk and that's it. I have made this several times using different recipes and they are all equally as simple to make and just as good. This latest batch was David Lebovitz' recipe which calls for milk, cream, yogurt, vinegar and salt.

First combine two quarts of whole milk (I used fresh raw whole milk from a local dairy), one cup of whole-milk plain yogurt, 1/2 cup of heavy cream (optional), 2 teaspoons of white vinegar and 1 teaspoon of salt in a heavy pot and bring to a boil. Gently boil for 1-2 minutes until a "raft" forms on the surface and the milk starts to curdle.

After the two minutes are up, I turn the burner off and let the pot sit for 15 minutes or so to cool and then spoon the curds into a cheesecloth lined sieve to drain.

Pour off the rest of the liquid through the cheese cloth, squeeze out any excess liquid and refridgerate. I leave the cheese in the cheesecloth in the fridge until firm and then either use it right away or tranfer to a sealed tub. This should keep up to 3-4 days but it never lasts that long around here!

The Little Tunny Have Arrived

2011-09-27T17:26:00.004-04:00

My friend Al White who is a captain/fishing guide in Florida near where I live invited me to go fishing the other day and how could I dare say no? I've been anxious to get out for ages and now that my hand is mostly healed (well, almost), I wanted to go so that's just what we did.

We launched the boat out of Charlotte Harbor near Boca Grande and set out in search of big balls of bait being crashed by hungry fish. The first pod was full of mackerel crashing bait near the surface. Every time a fish would come thrashing through, the bait would jump clear out of the water trying to get away from the jaws about to encompass them. It was a sight to behold...I've seen this in Baja when we were fishing the Sea of Cortez and it's always an exciting sight to see.

We were soon into fish and both of us hooked and released several mack's until I had a fish on that was for certain, no mackerel! It peeled off line like a marlin and I knew instantly I was hooked into a false albacore, affectionately referred to as little tunny. They are a member of the tuna family and are solid muscle and built like torpedo's hence they are super strong and will give you a real run for your money. Super fun on a fly rod! My first little tunny of the day, I had Capt. Al hold it so I could get a proper photo using my good 35mm SLR which I didn't want his fishy, salty hands on...so, he is holding my fish. I guess that's just the way it is when you are the photographer and either can't trust anyone to take a decent photo or don't want anyone touching your expensive camera so C'est la vie.

I shot a short video of the albies crashing bait and this was what we were surrounded by all morning! What a hoot!

The flies we were using were immitating what are called Cuban anchovies and they are only an inch and a half long. It's amazing out of that huge ball of bait that a fish could spot our fly and eat it but that's just what they did. One of the fish we caught regurgitated a bunch of bait fish so I was able to get a photo of the bait next to our fly showing the similarities.

I was using an 8 weight rod with an intermediate sinking tip fly line but I should have been using a 9 or 10 weight for these fish as I was very under equipped for the strength of the false albacore. I use an 11 weight when fishing them in Loreto. Next time I'll bring a heavier rod!
All in all a very fun day and we both landed lots of fish. We were back off the water by around 1:30 or 2:00 pm and back at the house having a cold beer. Great day on the water. I'm already ready for another trip. Maybe this Friday?

Road Tripping for Mushrooms

2011-09-25T10:37:00.003-04:00

Maggie the Wonder Dog and I needed a break from the Florida heat and humidity and feeling very mushroom deprived, we decided to head out on a road trip up north where Autumn is in full swing and the mushrooms are popping all over. This year is producing a bumper crop of mushrooms thanks to Hurricane Irene and tropical storm Lee. Pennsylvania and the Northeast are in the zone for some of the best mushrooming to be seen in decades.

We were heading to Southcentral Pennsylvania and our route took us through Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia before reaching our destination. While stopped for a "potty" break for Maggie, we took a stroll through the woods at the Virginia welcome center and found a bunch of gorgeous Amanitas. Since most of my mushroom hunting and species knowledge is based on mushrooms west of the Mississippi, I am new to eastern species so bear with me while I mutter my way through this.

Driving through the Appalachian mountains of West Virginia, we crossed over The New River Gorge Bridge, the longest single span arch bridge in the US. We stopped so I could take a photo of it since you can't see anything when you are actually ON the bridge. It's quite a beauty!

The first day in Pennsylvania was rainy all day. That makes for wet mushrooms, wet people, wet dogs and wet camera equipment, so suffice to say, I did not take too many photos that day. I did manage a few with my iPhone though! The weather did improve as the week progressed so I did manage to get some photos of the vast variety of mushroom species out there in the woods. I am not accustomed to walking in deciduous, hardwood forests and these mushrooms are foreign to me by comparison to west coast mushrooms, Pacific Northwest mushrooms and those I found in SW Montana so the variety available to me was astounding!

Here are some photos to give you an idea of what a mushroom fairyland I was visiting:

The last day I really wanted to go searching for paw paws and had heard there was to be a paw paw festival in Paw Paw, West Virginia, so my friend and I took off for a day trip to Paw Paw to the festival. Unfortunately, when we got there, we were told the festival does not take place anymore and hasn't for a few years (don't believe what you read online!!!) so we were out of luck. So, not to be a total loss, we drove around town, marvelling at all the paw paw trees (Asimina triloba) and found some paw paws growing on a tree outside the front door of the post office. We picked all we could reach and ate some right away! Mmmm tasty!

The Butterflies Are Here At Last

2011-08-08T17:33:00.013-04:00

Every morning I am greeted in my garden by something new and wonderful and today it was the emergence of Black Swallowtail butterflies from my butterfly garden! I have been watching the caterpillars on the bronze fennel for weeks now in their various stages of development. Then a few weeks or so ago I noticed a chrysalis on the ceramic pot where my powder puff tree is planted and then today, it was empty and sitting on the side of the pot next to it, drying its wings was this beautiful butterfly.

The caterpillars are veracious feeders and have completely descimated the bronze fennel but since I planted it there just for them, I don't mind. It is loaded with cats and soon I will be loaded with butterflies!

Hopefully I will be able to witness the metomorphosis of the next batch. I think some are ready to enter the pre pupa stage so stay tuned for more photos.

The butterfly garden idea was conceived last fall when the Master Gardeners had their annual plant sale up the street from me. They had an entire section devoted to just plants that attract butterflies. I had just the spot for such a garden so began to plan.

Before I bought this house there were a few ficus trees in the back yard but after a hard winter and heavy freezes, the ficus trees died and once I owned the house, I cut the dead trees down. Above is the yard the way it was before I bought the house. Below is the progression of the garden to date.

We Have Eggs!

2011-07-13T12:36:00.000-04:00

I always thought my girls were precocious but even this was a surprise to me. On June 27th, Inez and Betty both laid their first eggs. They are the two Barred Rock hens I have and it was quite amazing to me they both laid their first egg on the same day. These gals were only 4-1/2 months old which is a little young to start laying. The minimum is usually around 20 weeks but I guess they were anxious to get the egg rolling.

I awoke that morning a little after 7am to the sound of a very excited and loud chicken making very loud noises to the point I was worried something may be trying to get into their coop. I sprang out of bed and looked over to the chicken yard but all seemed to be in order and there were no unwanted guests trying to get in. Then it hit me...I remembered this very frenzied, loud, raucous, clucking/screaming noise from when I had chooks in Montana. It was the very sound of egg laying! Yes, these girls can make quite a fuss when they lay an egg and I guess the first one must really be something else because it woke me out of a sound sleep!

Anyway, now a few of the other girls are in on the fun and I'm now getting three to four eggs a day. Out of 6 hens I should be getting six a day pretty soon. I'm very happy to be finally getting fresh eggs because there is just nothing like a farm fresh egg!

Hiatus from the blogosphere

2011-07-13T10:53:00.005-04:00

I realize it's been a while since my last blog post and there is a good reason for that. First I apologize for the long silence and now the explanation. I underwent hand surgery on May 11th (Right CMC Joint Arthroplasty with FCR Tendon transfer) to fix the basal thumb joint in my right hand and since I'm right handed, I have been unable to use my hand, hence no writing, shooting photos, cooking, fishing etc. That makes me and my life pretty darn dull! But, things are finally looking up and now that I am two months post op and I am starting to be allowed to use my thumb little bits at a time, I am starting to shoot photos again and now I am able to type.

Typing is quite difficult with a big hard plastic splint on your hand from your thumb to your mid arm.

So, I am back and hopefully with time allowed, I will have some new posts for you soon. I'm afraid the fishing posts will still have to wait for a while since I still am not allowed to cast my fly rod just yet. They say six months for recovery and a full year for full recovery. It's all a little too slow for me but hopefully it will all be worth it.

I have now graduated to a small, neoprene flexible splint and this should be the last one I have until I am freed from splints altogether. I have another appointment with my surgeon on July 21st and we will see what he has to say. The worst thing is I am still unable to use my thumb for pinching.

In short, they removed the trapezium bone in my thumb joint and at the same time, harvested a piece of tendon from my forearm that was not being used for anything in particular. That tendon was wrapped into a neat coil and inserted into the hole where the trapezium bone was removed, so as to not leave a negative space. The rest of the tendons were all re-attached and then I was placed in a huge bandage and splint to immobilize the thumb.

The tendons are the slowest things to heal and it takes a minimum of 10 weeks for them to heal over where they were reattached. This is one of the longest things I've had to heal from...seems longer than my total knee replacement, but if it means I will once again be able to cast my fly rod with no pain, then it will have all been worth it.

Spring has Arrived and so have Morels and Ramps

2011-05-02T08:33:00.002-04:00

I may have grown up on the east coast in Wilmington, DE but I was not savvy to wild mushrooms or foraging for food back in those days. In fact, I honestly don't even remember seeing wild mushrooms as a child except for what may have been referred to as toadstools and hence were kicked over by ones big, fat boot!

After I moved clear across country to CA to finish college, I joined the Mycological Society of San Francisco, one of the largest mushroom clubs in the country and that was my first introduction to wild mushrooms in the US. I found my first chanterelles while steelhead fishing the Gualala River in Northern CA on the coast and then began to learn about Boletus edulis growing along the coast in the fall and then of course came morels.

My very first foray for morels was in the early 1980's outside Yosemite with David Arora and a group from MSSF. It was one of the most memorable mushroom hunts of my life. I had heard about the plethora of morels that would come up the first spring after a forest fire, but I'd never experienced it for myself. We forayed as a group all day and were not having a whole lot of luck. We were walking back to the campsite as a group when I decided to "foray" into the woods on my own to relieve myself and right next to where I squatted, I suddenly saw morels for as far as I could see. It was like the forest had been carpeted with them and here I was peeing right next to them! Well, first a gasp and squeal with delight and then the serious picking began and I returned to the campsite with a big, fat bag of morels. Needless to say, the cat was out of the bag and everyone scored and we had lots to talk about around the campfire that night.

David Arora is one of the most interesting people and if you ever have the opportunity to attend a foray he conducts, by all means, do it! He is fun, entertaining, full of stories and you will not be disappointed. It is well worth the cost to attend. He is one of the most knowledgeable people when it comes to mushrooms so you will come home loaded with valuable information.

Well, back to the spring at hand, we leap forward a good thirty years and here I am in SE PA where I grew up and searching for morels in areas I knew nothing about when I lived here many years ago. This is all rather new to me. I don't actually know my east coast deciduous, hardwood trees and hence don't know the best habitat for morels although I am learning. I've been told ash is good, tulip poplar, and dying elm trees and of course old apple orchards are good producers although you have to be careful with arsenic in the soil left behind from the heavy chemicals used to fertilize the old commercial orchards years ago on the east coast.

Nonetheless, I do know they grow in the woods on our property as I found them here totally by accident about ten years ago. But, for some reason things seem behind this year as far as the weather has been concerned and they are not up yet. In fact there are few signs of the predictors that indicate morels are on the way, such as mayapples. There were no mayapples in the woods at all a few days ago when I went down there but I did find tons and tons of ramps (a wild leek) and stinging nettles. I also found a bunch of ferns just unraveling but they don't appear to be the right kind to eat as fiddleheads. So I will have to settle for ramps and nettles for now. I picked a bunch of both to eat.

Florida's Birds

2011-04-25T09:23:00.001-04:00

I am so fortunate to live in a place with some of the most gorgeous and spectacular wading birds in the world. Sarasota is home to a plethora of exotic shore birds and giant tree nesting birds. From Brown pelicans to Great Blue Herons and Roseate Spoonbills we have them all.

Yesterday was Easter Sunday so I decided to make it a photography day. I am still wanting and hoping to get a longer lens for shooting photos of birds, but for now, the one I have will have to suffice. The amazing thing is, these birds let you get very close to them. In fact, I had put my camera in the car and decided to go wet my feet in the warm Gulf water and as I walked into the water, birds flew in from all over and started to surround me as if I had provided a smorgasbord for them and they were all coming to the party. When I saw this crazy conglomeration of birds coming at me from all sides, I had to walk back to my car and get my camera. I really couldn't believe my eyes!

I went to a favorite spot where there is a rookery full of heron nests and pelican nests in the trees and I always find interesting birds here. Then I took a run over to Sarasota Jungle Gardens to shoot some photos of one of my favorites, the American Flamingo, one of the most amazing birds to behold in person. They of course have a huge selection of parrots and Cockatoos. Here are some photos from the day. I hope you enjoy them.

Chicky, Chicky Baby

2011-04-11T08:40:00.001-04:00

When I lived in Montana, I raised chickens for the fresh eggs which I have missed something awful since selling my home and 2.5 acres there. I worried about having chickens in a place that has hot, humid summers and hurricanes, tons of rain etc. but so many people here have them with little to no issues, I figured why not? So, after a ton of researching and shopping around for feed supply stores, I found a local place where I could buy some baby chicks (peeps). In the past I've purchased from McMurray Hatchery but you need to have a minimum order of ten to order from them so I went with the local shop that pretty much had what I wanted. Although I did want some Americauna's which weren't going to be available until the end of March and I didn't want to wait that long. What I did end up with was two Buff Orpington, two Rhode Island Red and two Barred Rock pullets. At least I hope they are all hens. I'm a bit concerned about one of the buff's which is considerably larger in size than it's partner! Please, please, please don't be a rooster!!

Next deed to be accomplished was a home for the babies once they outgrew their cardboard box. I found a local guy who builds chicken coops and had him build me one that would work for the size of my yard and number of chickens I had to raise. This is nothing compared to the palatial estate my Montana girls had but it would have to do for Sarasota, FL!

As soon as the babies were big enough to handle being outside with night time temps in the 50's, I transferred them and their heat lamp to the great outdoors where they have been ever since. They are getting big now and hopefully should be laying eggs by late July or early August.

A Good Way to Enjoy Spring

2011-04-08T15:10:00.002-04:00

This is one of my favorite spring recipes and first appeared in FUNGI Magazine's very fist issue back in the Spring of 2008. The article written by David Work highlights this fabulous recipe for the most delicious quiche you've ever had with the premier spring ingredients of morels, asparagus, caramelized shallots, chives and goat cheese.

Give this a try, you won't be disappointed!

wild-epicure

Let's Grow Mushrooms!

2011-01-21T10:17:00.003-05:00

Now that I'm living in a mild climate that is also known for its higher humidity levels in the summer months, I decided I'd like to give mushroom cultivation a try. Since we don't normally have freezes during the winter months mushrooms should have a good time growing here. We do get a hard frost here and there but it's not the norm to have a frozen winter in SW Florida which is why I am here and not in SW Montana!

The mushrooms I've decided to grow are Shiitake, Lentinula elodes, Maitake, Grifola frondosa, oyster mushrooms, Pleurotus ostreatus and Lion's Mane, Hericium erinacius. These species will all grow on oak which is the type of wood host I have to use since there is tons and tons of oak in Florida. Hardwood species are required for these.

My friend had to cut a huge limb off his oak tree so I asked him to save me some logs about 3-4 feet long and no bigger in diameter than 14". Once the logs have been cut off a living tree, they need to rest for two weeks to a month prior to plugging. You must make sure the logs are not in contact with soil while they are resting. Also winter trees have more sugar content in them so it's best to cut the logs in the winter if possible.

Once you have your rested logs you will need your mushroom spawn which comes in the form of a wooden dowel or plug. The spawn is inoculated into the plug. There are several sources for purchasing these spawn plugs. I got mine from Fungi Perfecti in Olympia, WA.

The next step is to drill holes into your logs in a diamond pattern around the circumference of the logs having all the holes no more than 4" apart. The idea here is to have enough spawn plugged into the log that the spawn will take over (colonize) the entire log in time. A 3-4 foot log can take 50 or more plugs. Insert the plug into the hole and pound in with a rubber mallet. After you have your logs plugged, you need to seal the plugs with a coating of cheese wax to prevent micro organisms from contaminating your mycelium.

Once all the logs have been plugged they need to be stacked in a damp and shady location to rest, off the ground on a pallet, stacked in a criss cross pile called a "rick" to help conserve moisture. Cover the rick with shade cloth or a tarp and keep cool and damp. It is important that sufficient moisture is maintained to support the mycelial growth.

DO NOT USE PLASTIC TO COVER YOUR LOGS...THIS WILL CAUSE MOLD TO FORM

Now that your logs are plugged, covered, watered and tarped, the next step is to wait. This step is referred to incubation which will take 6-12 months for the mushroom mycelium to colonize the logs. Now is the time to walk away and just ignore them.

We will discuss fruiting later when the time comes, so stay tuned.

Orchids, Orchids, Orchids Part II

2011-01-15T19:30:00.000-05:00

Well the orchid show was so awesome I had to go back the next day to shoot more photos of the gorgeous orchids in bloom. Here are more beautiful orchids for your enjoyment:

Orchids, Orchids, Orchids!

2011-01-08T19:09:00.001-05:00

Who doesn't love orchids? I know people think they are very difficult to grow but really, most of them are not that difficult with the right light. Phalaenopsis are the easiest and I think paphiopedilum are not too difficult either to grow and get to bloom again. The tough guys are cattleyas which are much more temperamental and like being outdoors in warm tropical climates. Now that I have a home in FL, I will try my hand once again at growing these corsage orchids outdoors. I've been told all you need to do is tie or hang them from a tree and squirt water at them once in a while and they will bloom! I'm not sure how correct that is, but I'm willing to give it a try.

This morning was the opening of the first day of the big Sarasota Orchid Society Orchid Show and Sale. I, of course, was the first paying customer in the door! That made it easier to shoot photos of the gorgeous orchids in the show and also get to the sale tables before they got massacred. Here are some photos from the show. Enjoy!

Quest for the Blue Entoloma of New Zealand

2011-01-05T09:14:00.005-05:00

If you recall my post from last May when I was in New Zealand on business, I managed to sneak away for a short period to photograph a stunning blue mushroom found only in New Zealand. On my return, I was asked to write a story about my quest to find that mushroom and to send photos along as well, to Fungi Magazine. Well, the new magazine issue is out and so is my story and a few photos. I will post it here so you all can read it. If you are a true mushroom enthusiast as I am, you should subscribe to FUNGI Magazine so you won't miss an issue. It is well worth the money for the subscription. (click on full screen to read the story)
NewZealandLR

Not your Ordinary Sand Castles!

2010-11-15T15:54:00.002-05:00

This year Sarasota celebrated it's first annual Siesta Key Crystal Classic - Master Sand Sculpting Competition. Twenty three master sand sculptors from around the US were invited to compete at Siesta Key on some of the most amazingly beautiful sand in the world. Siesta Key is renowned for it's pure white sand and has won competitions for the best sand. At the "Great International White Sand Beach Challenge" held in 1987, it was recognized as having the "whitest and finest sand in the world. "Why you ask? "Unlike beaches elsewhere that are made up mostly of coral, Siesta Beach's sand is 99% quartz. Even on the hottest days, the sand is so reflective that it feels cool underfoot. It's estimated that the sand on Siesta Beach and Crescent Beach on Siesta Key is millions of years old, and started in the Appalachians and flowed down the rivers and was eventually deposited on the shores of Siesta Key."

So, what better place to have a sand sculpting competition? Here are some before and then after shots of some of the sculptures which took four days to complete.

Going Wild in the Streets of Sarasota with Chalk

2010-11-01T14:25:00.002-04:00

One of the things I love about Sarasota is the constant flurry of activities that are ever present in this lovely user friendly city. This past Halloween weekend was the Sarasota Chalk Festival, the first international street painting festival in the US. Artists from all over the US and countries such as Germany, Mexico, Italy, Slovenia, Netherlands and Canada flew in to participate. You couldn't have asked for a nicer day to show off their art on the streets of Sarasota, some of which took a week to create! Enjoy the show: *click on each image to enlarge it

Red Bug Slough

2010-10-14T16:46:00.003-04:00

I took a long bicycle ride today through Red Bug Slough which is a 72 acre preserve and remnant piece of natural Florida nestled in the midst of suburban Sarasota. Imagine this beautiful preserve in the middle of Sarasota! There is a ton of wildlife from all kinds of birds including osprey and bald eagles, to otters, alligators, limpkins, anhinga, turtles etc.
Here are some photos from today's bike ride:

Huge old oak trees

Anhinga drying his wings off

see if you can see the baby turtle in the photo

it's a red bug but not what the slough is named for

can you see the baby to the back of the mommy turtle?

can you believe someone lives here?

Spanish moss

Butterflies and stuff

2010-10-14T09:00:00.003-04:00

So last weekend was the big Master Gardeners Plant Sale which just happened to take place around the corner from my house. It was just too easy! I made two trips and loaded up on plants that attract butterflies so I could plant my butterfly garden.

The area needed to be cleaned out first since there used to be a few ficus trees that died from the cold weather last winter and there were a ton of weeds to pull. I cut the dead ficus down and pulled the weeds, moved the iron table and chairs and the pea gravel so I was just down to dirt. Finally, it was time to plant.

The variety of plants should give me lots of butterflies of various and assorted colors and species. Some plants are meant to attract the butterflies for the nectar and some are for them to actually eat while they are growing. I will post progress photos from time to time to let you see how things are progressing. This weekend is the rain barrel workshop so I suppose the next post will be all about rain barrels and collecting rain water for watering the yard.

Montana Summer

2010-08-15T18:42:00.001-04:00

We no sooner got to Florida, did some quick unpacking, set up the office, signed the papers to close on the house and took off. First to Pennsylvania for my Mom's birthday and a visit and then on to Montana for at least a month to keep cool and unwind from all the driving, packing, unpacking and stress from a cross country move.

There is hardly a nicer place to spend the summer than Montana. It has a dry climate and being in the mountains, where I was, the nights are cool and pleasant so no air conditioner is required. Nature provides the AC around these parts. The weather was perfect and every few days we would get an afternoon thunder shower. If only the mushrooms would have cooperated better.

My digs for this summer was an old homesteader cabin on Deep Creek in Paradise Valley. There is a main house and then a couple cabins that have been made very comfortable on the inside although the outside looks virtually untouched as it should. Listening to Deep Creek every night, lulling me to sleep was intoxicating. It was just cool enough at night to want a light blanket and all was right with the world. The stress melted off quickly and I was back in my element and loving every minute of my precious Montana. If only winters didn't last so long, I would have stayed there forever. But alas, Sarasota is going to be an awesome place to spend the winter so I'm happy about that. We will work on a more permanent solution for Montana summers.

Here are some photos of the highlights of our trip including the road trip along the way.

We're Here!

2010-06-24T17:15:00.000-04:00

So, here we are in southwest Florida in the heat of the summer. I am due to close on the house in a few days and then we can scoot out of here back north and hopefully get to Montana soon. It's a great place to be in the winter but for this 'ole gal who has lived in the bone dry climate of SW Montana for 12 years, the humidity is too much for me to handle. Besides, it was never the plan to spend summers here. The plan was winter in Sarasota and summer in Montana so that is what we shall do.

In the meantime, I am trying to learn the new plants I have in my yard and figure out how to deal with them. I've never owned hibiscus before, not to mention powder puff trees, date palms, passion vine, jasmine, crown of thorns etc. so I have lots to learn. Those are only the ones I know of for sure, the rest I need some ID help.

It was cold enough this past winter to kill off some of my ficus trees so I will need to get a tree person out here to advise me on how best to deal with them. In the meantime, here are some photos of what is here and is very much alive.

Road Trippin'

2010-05-31T23:09:00.005-04:00

Well, it was bound to happen eventually. I am buying a house in Florida and will soon start spending winters on the sunny shores of the sunshine coast and summers back in good 'ole SW Montana, with the rivers and mountains. This is how I've wanted it to be for years but only recently was it even a possibility. Now that the deal is about done, it's time for us gals to hop in the rig and drive to Florida. So we are rounding up all the unusual suspects for this road trip. There of course is Maggie the Wonder Dog, Mad Maddy from Montanny (the kitty) and then of course Thelma (Darlene) and Louise...that would be me. I'm not expecting the cops to be following us clear across country but then you never know, do you?

We are heading out first thing in the morning so will report back along the way. Our journey will take us from Oregon through Ogden, UT, through parts of Iowa and Nebraska, St. Louis, Nashville, Atlanta, Ga and then our new home. I can smell the salt air already and dreaming of palm trees and bonefish! There will be lots of new adventures to write about so stay tuned.

Louise, Thelma, Mad Maddy and of course the fab Maggie the Wonder Dog.......

Highlights from New Zealand

2010-05-28T21:52:00.003-04:00

Day Off in Auckland

2010-05-28T21:16:00.001-04:00

Today I had the day free to roam about Auckland so I decided to go sailing on an America's Cup yacht around Auckland Harbour. We left Auckland around 2:00 pm and sailed for a few hours getting back around 4:00. The weather was gorgeous although we could have used a bit more wind. All in all a great day and some beautiful rainbows to boot.

SailNZ has lots of activities from dolphin and whale tours to a few different sailing options. Or you can race on an America's Cup yacht. Everyone gets involved if you so choose. There are "grinders" needed to operate the different sails.

Or if you'd like to take the helm, you are more than welcome to take your turn driving. Anyone who wants to participate is encouraged to do so. It's a great time on the water and I highly recommend it.

Auckland Mushroom Club Foray

2010-05-22T03:54:00.005-04:00

Rainbow Mushrooms

2010-05-21T03:21:00.000-04:00

I've never found mushrooms as colorful as the ones I have found in New Zealand. Pink, red, green, orange, yellow, blue, you name it.

Here are some of the prettiest I found today in the forest.

Blue

2010-05-19T02:39:00.000-04:00

For the last 28 years since I became fascinated with wild mushrooms which has resulted in a passion and pretty much obsession, I have been enamored with mushrooms that are blue. They are quite rare in nature but there are some true beauties to be found in the woods.

Here in New Zealand there is one little mushroom that has won the hearts of many and is even depicted on the fifty dollar bill. That little mushroom is the blue entoloma aka Entoloma hochstetteri. I have been wanting to find this little mushroom to photograph for years but my trips to New Zealand usually take me there at the wrong time to find this mushroom that isn't available until the Autumn rains arrive each year.

This year I am in New Zealand in May which is the heart of the rainy season when the fungi are flourishing, especially on the South Island. I was on a quest to find the blue entoloma so when I left Queenstown and headed up the coast to Franz Josef Glacier, I decided to start searching the forests for my quarry. My first stop was a short hiking trail just past the Haast Visitors Center heading north. I hauled all my camera equipment into the woods with me through the swampy area and boardwalk. I stopped a few times to photograph the general view of the area and then just after stopping to take a photo I was just taking in the view and turned my head just to the right where right there in front of me was a blue entoloma, just the most gorgeous, vibrant, electric blue imaginable and protruding from a brilliant green mossy background on a tree just next to the boardwalk. I gasped with joy and excitement and started clicking off photos like a wild woman.

After overnighting at Holly Homestead in Franz Josef, I headed north the next morning to Greymouth, met up with some friends and then off to search for more blue mushrooms. We went to a hiking track near Lake Brunner and climbed to the top of a plateau and immediately started seeing blue here and there and everywhere. There were lots of other beautifully colored mushrooms I will post separately.

I have fallen in love with the blue entoloma and will continue to dream about it for some time to come.

Adventure Day in Queenstown

2010-05-19T01:08:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was Nery's birthday so she invited some local business friends over to dinner to meet me. One couple, the owners of Glenorchy Air invited me to go with them on a scenic flight from Queenstown to Fox Glacier. I eagerly accepted and this morning, Nery and I went for a fly.

We arrived back at the airport and after a quick safety check and safety vests on we were ready to take off on our journey to the glacier. The weather in Queenstown was heavy overcast and cold but the forecast at the coast was sunny and clear so off we went. We started off looking like we were going to fly into a big cloud of fog and crash into a mountain but Robert our pilot and owner of Glenorchy Air decided visibility was not good enough so we pulled up, did a hard bank to the left and turned around and looked for another passage over the mountains which we found and we were on our way.

Once we got to a certain point, the skies cleared and the sun was shining and we were surrounded by snowy mountain peaks, glaciers and the most stunning views on the South Island.

On arrival at Fox Glacier we walked to a cafe for a cup of coffee and short break then we piled back into the plane and flew back along the gorgeous coastline back to Queenstown.

Once I got back to Queenstown I had only moments to get back into town, up the skyline gondola and down to the tree house to the ZipTrek for my next adventure of the day. ZipTrek is a series of four zip lines through the Douglas Fir trees high above Queenstown. All tied in to the ecology and giving a tour along the way the tour guides explain how you can do your part to preserve the land and how they are doing their part. It was fun, informative, thrilling and very well done.

Hello New Zealand

2010-05-18T01:55:00.000-04:00

After too long a hiatus from my normal annual trips to New Zealand I am finally back in the Land of the Long White Cloud. It's good to be back and this time, since it is autumn I will have a blast photographing wild mushrooms which seem to be everywhere.

I departed Roseburg where Maggie the Wonder dog and Madison her kitty sister are staying with friends on their farm vacation. Meanwhile, up to Eugene and then to Los Angeles and finally on my Air New Zealand flight to Auckland. A rocky nights' sleep and you arrive in Auckland at 5:30 am. After a short shuttle bus over to the domestic airport and another wait, I am on my final flight to Queenstown. On arrival in Queenstown the rental car company is there to meet me and I get my car, sign the papers and I'm off to my accommodation. Trelawn Place is a B&B I've used for years so it was good to see Michael and Nery again.

First Morels of Spring

2010-04-15T13:58:00.000-04:00

For mushroom hunting fanatics such as myself, there is nothing that comes close to the excitement and anticipation of finding the first morels of Spring. After the drought of mushrooms over winter and waiting patiently for warmer weather to arrive, one tends to dream of morels, building the excitement for that first morel find of the season.

The season can start quite early in California with the first appearance of landscaping morels which appear in beds that have been covered by beauty bark, as early as January/February. Around mid March, the first morels appear in the woods of Georgia and then start to work their way north and west with appearances in Texas, Arizona, Louisiana and then heading north to Missouri, Kansas etc. By early April, Oregon is finding their first morels and by early May most of the country will be finding morels from Michigan to Montana.

Morel season is quite short in most locales and may only last a few short weeks. For those of us in the west who have access to areas that were burned by wildfires the previous summer, morels can be found prolifically if the conditions are right. In parts of Montana, Idaho and Washington, some burns can continue to produce from June well into October if they continue to get moisture and it doesn't get too hot.

As the season progresses, you will need to climb to higher elevations in the mountains to find them.

In the early season, the first morels to appear are associated with riparian areas and are referred to as Morchella esculenta which are larger and more of a yellow/brown morel. The smaller black morels in the mountains here don't appear until about May and the conditions and habitat are totally different. The elevation is higher, the trees are different and temperature again plays a big part in when they will fruit.

Morels need a ground temperature of 55 degrees to start fruiting. A good digital, probe thermometer is a good tool to carry with you when scouting new spots. In WA, ID, OR and CA you need to have a permit to pick mushrooms. You can get a personal use permit that will allow you to pick a certain quantity for your own personal use and some states will require you to cut them in half lengthwise to prevent the selling of mushrooms commercially without purchasing a commercial license. A commercial license will allow you to pick in areas specifically set aside for commercial use and to sell your mushrooms to a mushroom buyer. Personal use permits are free but don't get caught without one or your mushrooms will be confiscated. You can pick up a permit from your local forest service office or ranger station.

Yesterday Maggie the Wonder Dog and I took a ride to a spot that is known to produce morels this time of year and we managed to find enough for a meal. We also found one unusual morel growing on an old log that had been laying on the ground for years. How the mycelium got way up onto that log to allow this mushroom to fruit is beyond me but with morels, almost anything goes!

Pretty in Black

2010-02-22T10:30:00.003-05:00

So Maggie the Wonder Dog and I decided spur of the moment to take a run down to coastal California in search of one of my favorite mushrooms, Craterellus cornucopioides aka the black trumpet or Trompette de la Mort. They look like little black petunias and have a good strong earthy taste. Affectionately referred to as the "poor man's truffle", these black relatives to the chanterelle family are both stunning to look at but will flavor a dish very nicely.

We took off Friday morning around 11 am and headed straight down highway 97 all the way to the CA boarder just south of Klamath Falls. We passed an interesting area where thousands and thousands of white swans were enjoying the beautiful morning on the water but unfortunately there was nowhere to pull off the road for a photo. Continuing south we could see Mount Shasta in our sights. Wow, what a sight!

After stopping to see old friends at the Fly Shop in Redding where it was a balmy 70 degrees, I pushed on all the way to the little community off I-5 called Williams. What a cute town....from there it was another 2.5 hours over to Fort Bragg on the coast and mushroom heaven.

Black trumpets are not the easiest thing to spot in the woods but once you get your eyes dialed in and focused on what to look for, you start to notice them a lot easier. Since often they are growing out of black mud, they blend right into their surroundings and are rather invisible. When you can find them growing in green moss, they are easy to spot.

The host trees to look for with this mushroom are tanoak, chinkapin, madrone, manzanita and live oak.

Maggie and I managed to scour the forest floor and brought home a good amount of mushrooms to preserve and store for the future. All in all, a great weekend get away and beautiful weather to boot.

Another Mushroom Foray in Old Growth

2009-10-19T19:03:00.000-04:00

Mushrooms in Old Growth Forest

2009-10-11T17:26:00.016-04:00

It's not every day I get to take a long hike through an old growth forest. It's such a magical feeling to be amongst such grandeur and beauty. My purpose of this walk was mushroom photos, of course. I was and still am (unfortunately) in search of a photo of Polyozellus multiplex, aka Blue Chanterelle. It's not actually a chanterelle at all, but that's another story I will leave until the day I have such a photo with which to share. Until then, here are some of my favorites from the hike.

The Hazards of Bungee Cords

2009-10-08T21:35:00.007-04:00

I'm writing this simply because I think there are many people out there who have no idea just how dangerous bungee cords are and can be. I witnessed this first hand this last June while spending the summer in Montana. I was securing the cover on my wooden row boat and while hunched over, under my boat trailer, I had the bungee fully extended and while reaching to hook the end onto a spot that would hold it taught, the bungee slipped out of my grip and shot back at a force like out of a shotgun and hit me squarely in the right eye; my dominant eye that I use for all my most skillful needs such as photography. The blow hit with such force, it nearly knocked me out.

At first I just grabbed the first thing I could find so as not to pass out on the floor where it would be perhaps days before someone found me. I stood there trying to catch my breath and get my wits about me and then opened my right eye to see how badly I damaged it with the bungee. At first all I could see was white light. I had no vision, just white light. I was so scared that I was going to be blind in that eye that I drove myself in shock, with one eye and horrible pain in my right eye, 30 miles over a mountain pass and with just one eye with which to see where I was going. (try driving with one eye closed sometime and see how you do...it's damn hard)

I arrived at the Emergency Room on a Sunday afternoon and luckily I was about the only patient in the ER that afternoon. When asked to read the eye chart on the wall, I was hard pressed to even read the giant E at the top of the chart. Slowly my vision started to come back and the white light receded. The outcome at that time was Hyphema; blood in the anterior region of the eyeball. The blood in my eye was blocking my vision, hence the white light. I was ordered to 5 days of total bed rest with no computer, no reading, must sleep sitting up and no lifting or anything. In other words, lie down and shut up and don't move! We didn't want to create a re-bleed which would have involved surgery to fix it at that point. I had to use steroid eye drops every two hours around the clock for almost a month.

As time went by and I kept going to see the ophthalmologist, I couldn't help noticing my vision was getting worse and worse. Eventually I went to another eye doctor in Missoula and was then told I'd torn the zonules in my right eye which in turn made my lens loose and was distorting my vision. Along with a partially blown pupil and sphincter tears, my eye is a damn mess and I've done permanent damage to it. I've given myself an astigmatism, my vision continues to worsen so fast that I no sooner get a new prescription and lens made, my eye has already worsened and the lens is no good just that fast. My one month eye exam showed a full diopter change in just one month which is almost unheard of. Now, just four months later, I have a cataract in my right eye which will now need to be removed.

I'm telling this horror story to all of you in the hopes that the word will get out just how horribly dangerous bungee cords are and to please, please be careful when using them. Wear protective eye gear and don't get your face anywhere near the darn things as they can destroy your life in just one split second!

I will have eye surgery in December to replace the lens in my eye and if all goes well, I should be able to dump these horrible glasses I've had to endure that make me dizzy and disoriented, and unable to even wear while walking. Let my horrible experience prevent you from making the same stupid mistake and ruining your eyesight in one fowl swoop. Bungee cords are horribly dangerous and can destroy an eye in a fraction of a second. Tell all your friends and loved ones about this horror story and don't let it happen to you. I will update once I've had the surgery and let you know how things turn out.

I'm Baaaack

2009-09-28T10:40:00.000-04:00

Well, guess what? Summer is over and winter was approaching quickly and I did not want to spend another long winter in Montana so here I am back in Oregon, only this time, I'm giving Bend a go. So far, so good! I don't think winter will be as cold or as long here in central Oregon as it is in SW Montana, and being a good 1,000 feet lower in elevation can't hurt.

Bend is a beautiful town and the population is made up mostly of very energetic, outdoorsey, professional people who take their recreating seriously. Is there a law in Bend that everyone has to own a kayak? Never seen so many kayaks on car roof racks as driving up the Cascade Lakes Highway yesterday. Kayaks and mountain bikes. I guess if I was back in MT right now it would be pick up trucks loaded with dead animals in the back so I'll be happy to look at kayaks and bikes, thank you.

Now that I've been here for two weeks, I've started getting somewhat settled into the new pad and Maggie the Wonder Dog and I have managed to get out last weekend to find a few chanterelles and then this weekend to do some photographing of central Oregon and the multitude of lakes and mountains (actually volcanoes). Here is a sampling of some photos from the last two weeks.

Chanterelles, Oh How I Love Chanterelles

2009-08-22T18:37:00.010-04:00

I've lived in SW Montana for over 11 years and never found a chanterelle here anywhere in this state until yesterday! I had heard they do grow over in north western Montana around Lolo Pass but I've never been there at what I would expect to be the right time.

Yesterday I decided to go check a spot I've never been to before because I've heard it's a beautiful place and it's "mushroomy". I was amazed, shocked and very pleased to find chanterelles growing all over the place. Wow, what an amazing thing to find after years and years thinking this side of the divide was too dry. Of course this has been one of the wettest summers I can remember here. We almost never get rain in August but this year we've had gully washers. So, the chants seem to really like it...lots of rain then sun breaks and HEAT! Which is what we have now. It's in the 90's as I write this.

The most interesting thing about these chanterelles, and I've found tons and I mean tons in my days of mushrooming, is their vibrant color. The chants I used to pick in California and then in WA and OR are much yellower and these are more of an electric, day glo orange...absolutely gorgeous mushrooms.

It was stifling hot yesterday and Maggie the wonder dog and I had to do quite a bit of walking to find all these. It was funny because you'd walk along for a while and find no chants then come to a huge pocket of them all in one spot.

It was one of the most memorable mushroom hunts I've had in Montana and I will never forget the first chanterelles I ever found here. The most gorgeous of any I've picked anywhere!

And I even found some more beautiful #1 prime Boletus edulis buttons:

Montana Boletes 2009

2009-08-18T23:12:00.000-04:00

This has been one of the oddest summers here in SW Montana that I can remember in the 11+ years I've lived here and the boletes seem to be going along with it. Last year I was picking 20+ pounds each time I went and this year was more like 20 mushrooms per visit which just doesn't make sense to me but what can I say?

Usually my patch starts producing around July 8th but last year didn't start until the third week in July and then went well into the middle of August. That was pretty much the same this year also but I'm still finding some here and there.

This spot is primarily all Douglas fir trees and the elevation is over 6,800 feet asl. We've had cold snaps, lots of rain, then a little heat, then cold, rain and then heat. Yo yo weather for sure and now we are back to HOT!

I don't think I've ever seen so many slugs in the field. The slugs were eating everything like pirhana.

Look how many slugs are in this photo and the damage they did:

Pig Roast Montana Style

2009-07-19T23:50:00.018-04:00

My friend Ann just had a huge birthday bash and invited over 100 of her closest friends! It was an all weekend affair with people camping all over the place in tents, trailers etc. I live close enough so just stayed put in my Aristocrat with the kids (dog and cat).

Friday was full of games for all who were staying up there, kids and older folk alike had to participate in the games. Ann's version of Deal or No Deal with a $100 bill in one of the "suitcases" (really a lunch bag). Myles was the banker and tried to persuade people to trade their bag for a prize but most were a no go. Everyone picked a bag starting with the youngest to oldest then one by one in order from the lowest number we opened our bags. Wouldn't you know that the first to pick (also the youngest) got the $100 prize. Wow, what a cutie!

The next day, Saturday was the big river float. The pig roast guy was up there early to get the fire started and get the pig on the spit. Can you believe it took three cords of firewood to cook that thing? And to boot, it was the hottest day of the year thus far. But a good day to float the Jefferson River. I think we were about 20 in all floating the river in everything from drift boats to inflatable kayaks, canoes etc. I would have liked to do some fishing but this was not meant to be a serious float by any means. We floated, swam, picnicked and then headed back to get ready for the BIG party.

By the time I got back up the mountain, the pig was done and resting comfortably. Next onto the spit were some big beef roasts while we got all the rest of the food ready for the masses. Little by little everyone started showing up, young and old. Maggie the Wonder Dog had lots of doggie friends to play with and still has pig juice on the back of her neck from standing under the table while they were carving the pig. I guess I'm going to have to get the scissors out to cut the glued hair away!

There was a ton of good food, lots of interesting people to chat with and everyone had a great time. I can still taste that first bite of pork with the crackled skin still in place...wow was that good!

Sailfish Anyone?

2009-07-04T23:45:00.006-04:00

Today was a tough one. After a gangbuster day yesterday, today was quite slow. We drove around forever looking for sargasso (seaweed) and just couldn't seem to find much. The sargasso is where you will most likely find dorado if anywhere. It provides shelter on the hot summer days and today was HOT, believe me. So, after driving around in the panga for what seemed like forever, we decided to go in search of sailfish. We knew where the billfish had been hanging out so that's were we decided to concentrate our efforts.

Trolling is not something I like doing particularly but sometimes when you can’t find Sargasso or the fish, you don’t have much choice but to do some trolling. In the case of billfish, if you see one and can get the panga close and cut the motor, throw in a live sardine and if the fish is willing to eat the bait, then you have a chance at catching one casting to it. I caught a nice 130+ pound sailfish back in 2000 in Loreto casting flies but it is not often you get this opportunity as they often will just go down deep and disappear when they see the boat.

Today, we had some sailfish around so decided to try trolling through them. I secretly was hoping if we had a hookup, that it would be my boat partner Steve’s line that hooked up, not mine as I was still extremely sore from fighting my big dorado from yesterday and didn’t think I’d have the energy or strength to fight a billfish.

It was lucky for me, and Steve, that indeed it was his line that was getting some hits with a billfish following his fly. The pangero (guide) was very good at manipulating the boat slowing it down to let the sailfish bite the fly and then gunning the motor to try and set the hook. After a few tries, he was successful in hooking up the sailfish and then Steve was in for a fun ride. It was his first ever billfish on a fly rod so he was thrilled as was I that it was on his rod and not mine!

After about 10 minutes, Steve landed his first sailfish, a 60 pounder and I was very happy that I got to take lots and lots of photos! Well done, Steve

DORADO EVERYWHERE!!!

2009-07-03T19:25:00.006-04:00

This morning my boat for the first time all week was the first one out and on the lookout for dorado. Just a short distance from shore we saw a sailfish so stopped to see if we could entice him to the fly rod but to no avail so on we went. We managed to find a nice big piece of floating sargasso (seaweed) and tons and I do mean lots and lots of dorado. They were all over the place and we had them all to ourselves! We had several hookups and landed several fish each before 7am even, I've never seen anything like it. You didn't even need to cast the fly, there were so many, they hit the fly just the second it hit the water. It wasn't too long before we were found out and all the other boats converged onto the spot we'd found first but before that happened, I'd hooked up with a monster bull dorado and was well into my backing before the hoards moved in. It took me a good 45 + minutes to land this fish which was so big it didn't even register on our Bogagrip scale. The guide figures it went well over 40 pounds! Just one day of fishing left.
(all the fish in today's post were caught by me) I seem to be the only person on the boat who knows how to take a decent photo so not many photos of me!

The Beauty of Baja

2009-07-02T23:05:00.001-04:00

Marine Wildlife Abounds

2009-07-02T00:28:00.000-04:00

Finback Whales, porpoises, turtles, manta rays, sharks, sailfish, marlin, dorado, flying fish...

First Day of Fishing

2009-06-30T23:52:00.001-04:00

Everyone had a great day today fishing. The dorado as usual are a long way from Loreto to the north but people managed to find them so that was all that counted.

We have 6 boats out each day fishing and the rest of the gang are not fishing and have rented a car so they can go exploring.

Rainy Day

2009-06-29T17:22:00.003-04:00

We woke up in time to go out fishing for our first day on the Sea of Cortez but once we all arrived in the lobby, we realized there was lightning all over and soon it started to rain as we were about to walk to the marina. So, after hanging out for a few hours waiting to see if it cleared, we were told the day was canceled due to bad weather so we had a day off in Loreto. We all went back to our rooms and rested up a bit (we were up at 5am) and then went to breakfast and then walked into town to take a look around and hit the supermercado for a few items and of course the guys needed a trip to Cactus liquors!

Loreto Baja California Sur 2009

2009-06-29T00:24:00.003-04:00

I’m leading a group of anglers down to Loreto on the Sea of Cortez to do some fly-fishing for dorado, sailfish and marlin. Most of the group, are coming from the greater Seattle area and will all be on the same plane together. I am departing from Montana so I will meet up with them all in Los Angeles. So far all is going perfectly.

I opted to drive to Bozeman (hour drive) and spend the night since my flight was to depart at 6:30 am and I’d need to do an international check-in. The mere thought of getting up at 3 am to drive to the airport in the dark dodging deer along the way was not something I wanted to attempt. So, I left Saturday and headed to Bozeman to spend the night and checked in this morning allowing myself an extra hour of sleep.

Bozeman airport (Gallatin Field) has gone entirely “self serve” pretty much forcing people to have to use a computer to access their flight information and do their own boarding passes. Since I am flying on two different airlines to get to Loreto, the kiosk machine didn’t recognize my confirmation number for some reason so I had to go to the “special services” line which was mostly made up of unaccompanied minors traveling. No problem, the attendant at the counter got me taken care of and then it was off to the x-ray machines so I could explain to everyone that I had a bionic knee and would set off the machine…which in fact, I did. Then after a thorough wanding by the TSA agent I was finally good to go get a cup of coffee and wait to board my flight.

The flight was a peace of cake and we actually arrived 20 minutes early if you can believe that. I will also mention that on both of my flights this morning, Delta has given us complimentary beverages and snacks and I didn’t have to pay to check my bag. Next stop is LAX and meeting up with the group.

Well, everyone is here and the flight has been held up in Vancouver, BC due to mechanical problems, so we wait, and wait and wait. Finally around 2:30 pm (flight was supposed to have left at 11:30 am) we take off and arrive in Loreto around 5 pm local time. It's hot but not as hot as I've seen it here in the past. For the first time in ages, I manage to skip right through customs and immigration and get a green light instead of the dreaded red light so we're off to the hotel.

The hotel is lovely! La Mision Loreto has been totally redone and reopened in November. The rooms or gorgeous and huge and I think the group is very happy with this choice of accommodations. Tomorrow we go fishing.

Montana Runoff is in Full Swing

2009-06-01T17:20:00.014-04:00

Historically in Montana, the entire month of June is runoff time with about every river swollen to capacity and beyond with flooding throughout the state and this June is no exception except that it started in ernest in May and is now in full swing with flooding everywhere. I've been documenting some of the local rivers in the last week checking the flooding and here is a quick review of what I've seen in my general vicinity.

First the Jefferson River

Rock Creek near Philipsburg

Up on Skalkaho Pass the snow is still deep in some spots and melting rapidly which is causing all the runoff. The water falls are really hauling water.

Yellowstone National Park Memorial Day 2009

2009-05-26T13:29:00.018-04:00

Yesterday was a gorgeous day to head into Yellowstone Park which is only a two hour drive from home. I've never gone into the park quite this early before so it was interesting to see the park in springtime with a considerable amount of snow still on the ground in spots.

The closest entrance to the park from where I live is the West Entrance through West Yellowstone, MT. From there, it's about another 14 mile drive to Madison Junction where you take a right hand turn to Old Faithful at Madison Junction.

First stop along the way was the Fountain Paint Pot Trail, featuring geysers, mud pots, hot springs and fumaroles along a boardwalk. Plenty of geothermal activity to witness here.

Next stop was Old Faithful, another 17 miles or so down the road past lots more large animals alongside the road to thrill tourists and onlookers. This stretch has some beautiful fly fishing water along the well renowned Firehole River. There were plenty of people out trying their luck on the Firehole yesterday, casting along the river's edge with steaming vents encircling them.

When we arrived at Old Faithful, we had just missed the geyser so we had about a 45 minute wait for the next "performance" so to speak. We walked around and listened to the narration of the park ranger who was making the most of entertaining the huge crowds. Finally, after a long wait, Old Faithful erupted in typical geyser fashion and gave a rather short performance although it was well received by all.

Having such a short amount of time to see as much of the park as possible, we opted to head to Yellowstone Lake in lieu of doing the entire loop that runs from Madison Junction to Old Faithful, Yellowstone Lake's West Thumb, then on to Fishing Bridge, around to Canyon Village and through Norris back to Madison Junction and then on to West Yellowstone.

When we started climbing in altitude to Yellowstone Lake, we climbed to 8,391 feet asl where there was still quite a lot of snow on the ground and the lake was still a good bit frozen, although much of it was melted. We encountered a small grizzly bear that looked like he was having great difficulties coming out of hibernation, skinny and sickly looking. I'm not sure what was wrong with him but he didn't look good at all.

That's about as far as we had time for in one day, so we turned around and headed back to West Yellowstone, stopping along the way for more photo ops and large animal sightings. All in all a great day in the park, which would only have been better if I'd had my fly rod in hand on the Firehole!

A few more shots from in the park:

Scenic Montana Shots

2009-05-24T10:57:00.006-04:00

Reconnecting with our Montana Souls

2009-05-20T22:20:00.003-04:00

So, we gave Oregon a shot and it just didn't work out. Between my horrible joints that hated the climate and the lack of open spaces, I decided I needed to return to southwest Montana where I've lived the last 11 years quite comfortably with the exception of the long winters. I'm going to work on that though and figure out a place to go for winter.

Upon departing Roseburg, Maggie the wonder dog and her feline pal (and sister) Madison and I took to the road and pulling our new (well, new to us) 1970 Aristocrat camp trailer decided to take a few days and camp out in Sisters, OR in search of morels and boletes and whatever else we could muster up.

Maggie had a great time playing with her doggie pals Mazey and Ruby and Madison sat in the window most of the time or hid and slept all day so she could pester the crap out of me all night long while I was trying to sleep! Have you ever tried camping with a cat in tow? It's not a particularly fun thing to do, traveling with a litter box in cramped quarters.

We met up with friends out at the Jack Creek campground about 18 miles from Sisters, which was quite a peaceful place to camp once the weekend warriers departed Sunday afternoon and Monday morning. The mushrooming was not as good as we'd hoped it would be. There were no boletes popping yet and the burn that had been producing had been so pounded by commercial pickers there were no morels to pick including babies. There were scads of pickers and buyers and virtually no mushrooms to go around so it seemed like a bad dream. We did manage to get out and find some natural morels though which is a treat for me, not having any natural morel spots in which to forage in Montana.

After four nights at Jack Creek, Maggie, Madison and I continued our trek back to SW Montana overnighting in Connell, WA and then finally making it back here late afternoon through rain, high winds, snow and crazy weather. Now we are getting settled in Montana and enjoying life staying with a friend in the Highland Mountain foothills and especially enjoying the beautiful sunny, warm weather. It's good to be HOME!

The Elusive Morel

2009-04-25T11:03:00.012-04:00

When morel season is in full swing it is hard to think about anything else. My mind is constantly grinding away trying to think of areas I could scour for just a few more for the pot. Needless to say I have no trouble finding Morchella conica which favor fruiting in previously burned areas out west, but the one that constantly has me stumped is the elusive Morchella esculenta. This is the big yellow colored morel that most people think of when you speak of morels.

This mushroom is not so elusive in the midwest and even eastern U.S. but out here, it is much harder to locate. I used to find a few (maybe 10 or so) under the cottonwood trees on my property in Montana but to find them in the riparian areas along the western rivers is much harder because now you're dealing with private property and either getting permission to scout someone's property, or else you need a drift boat and good oarsman to navigate the river and cruise the banks stopping to pick along the way and always staying below the high water mark in order to remain legal. The problem with the second scenario is the fact that when Morchella esculenta are fruiting in the late spring in Montana, the snowmelt and runoff are in full swing and the river is usually too high and far too dangerous to attempt floating.

I have found scads of them on my family's property in Pennsylvania where they prefer old apple orchards and woods with dead or dying elm trees. They are also widely associated with maple, ash, poplar, cherry and an assortment of other trees but they will fruit prolifically around dying trees, their last attempt to prolificate or become extinct. They love disturbed areas and will grow in places unimaginable to those picking them with what seems like no rhyme or reason to the where and why.

There are certain wild flowers that can be used as indicators for timing morel fruiting. In the Rocky Mountain west, the calypso orchid and glacier lily are often in bloom at the same time or close to the same as Morchella elata (black morel). In Oregon, a good indicator is flowering Oregon grape.

I guess part of the attraction to these honeycombed fungi is the difficulty factor in finding them and the sheer size of them which can be downright huge. These are the perfect receptacle for stuffing so hopefully some recipes will follow in the coming posts.

Something about Rivers

2009-04-21T22:18:00.009-04:00

Light and Composition

2009-04-17T00:25:00.013-04:00

The First Morels of Spring

2009-04-14T12:37:00.006-04:00

This is the time of year that drives us hunter/foragers insane waiting ever so patiently...nah, not patient at all! I have been the most impatient person I know waiting for these pesky little fungal finds. I have been out so many times I don't care to think about it; searching along rivers, under leaves, scouting cottonwood trees which are rather scarce in my neck of the WOODS. All this scouting to no avail. I've been to parks, driven around just looking for trees, been to some of last year's burn sites, been to recently logged areas, out in the rain, out in the sun (on the rare occasion we get to see it) and still nothing. I've poured over my notes and re-read posts off mushroom boards for timing of fruitings from last season and all to no avail.

Yesterday started out just the same way. I made my weekly trek to a spot I've been watching for weeks now and waiting. It is the scene from a burn from last summer. I had very high expectations that this would finally be the day, but alas, all I found was a few cup fungus which was not completely bad news. Cups are a precursor to what is to come which is morels, eventually. So, nothing there yet. Then off to another spot for a walk in the woods and all I found on this stop was some trillium, a wildflower that is also used as a timing device for morels. Still no morels. Then off I go with Maggie the Wonder Dog to yet another spot and again...nothing. Well, having gotten quite used to this lack of excitement, I decided to just head home. On the way back there was a spot where a fire had burned last summer that was about as steep as if you were to climb straight up a cliff. I managed to climb up a portion of bank that had a charcoal burned twig and got my balance and almost immediately found a morel right there!

I couldn't withhold the excitement and let out a joyous bellowing howl of approval. After that it was all about mountain climbing for morels. This is by far the steepest place I've ever seen morels grow and not a fun place to pick by any means, but at least I found some and could make a nice meal or two. I walked around the best I could without tumbling down the hill and came around the corner behind a big stump and WOW, you could have knocked me over with a feather. Take a look at this little surprise waiting for me. I couldn't believe my eyes.

The end of this week is supposed to get warm and sunny so things will only get better from here on out. So, get out there and scout your spots because morels are coming to a forest near you! Good luck...

Signs of Spring

2009-03-09T21:59:00.007-04:00

It may not be officially spring just yet but it is starting to look the part around here more and more each day. My crocuses bloomed about a month ago and are about toast now, but the daffodils and grape hyacinths and various and assorted other spring flowers are blooming now.

Check out these interesting shots of mosses and lichens enjoying spring as well.

Click on each image to enlarge it.

Winter Mushrooms

2009-03-06T23:57:00.001-05:00

It's nice to know that spring is starting to spring up all around me and there are still winter mushrooms to be found if you know where to look. It won't be long before the morels start to poke their heads out from under the leaves so in the meantime, I had to go take a look and see if I could find some hedgehogs Hydnum repandum and yellowfoot chanterelles Cantharellus tubaeformis. Sure enough, I found enough to make the trip worth while.

Lobster with Truffle Butter

2009-02-14T22:50:00.003-05:00

I am a lucky, lucky girl. When I was approached to do a trade of live lobsters for fresh Oregon truffles, I was a bit skeptical and thinking who would want to spend the money to ship live lobsters to a complete stranger in trade for little fungal spheres but I guess this wonderful person did! So, the fun began.

The big box arrived well packed and containing two beautiful live Maine lobsters. So into the pot they went.

Now I love all kinds of ways to cook lobster but to me, with a treat like this, I didn't want to take anything away from the natural flavors of the lobster with the exception of some melted truffle butter I'd made using fresh black truffles. The end result was très magnifique! I of course reciprocated with a package of plenty of fresh Tuber oregonense and Leucangium carthusianum to hold up my end of the bargain. I hope my trading buddy felt as fortunate and enjoyed his prize as much as I did. Thanks Leo!

The Most Elusive Mushroom in Oregon

2009-01-27T13:14:00.009-05:00

Craterellus cornucopioides

Man these are the doggone hardest mushrooms to find in this state. I've searched high and low and with absolutely NO success. I've had some pointers from people who are pickers who have found them around here in the past but with or without pointers I've had the same amount of success...NONE! So I had a proposition I just could not refuse. A commercial picker friend of a friend from my area contacted me and told me he had a spot he would essentially "give" me as it had no commercial value to him in terms of amounts of mushrooms to harvest, but if I was only looking to find some for my own enjoyment and use he would take me right to them and show me what habitat to look for.

It was a great learning experience since I'm still having trouble with some of my Oregon trees and he showed me some tricks to learn some of my different firs and one tree I'd heard of but never seen (that I knew of) a golden chinkapin, which seems to be key to finding black trumpets. We were in white fir, madrone and the occasional chinkapin and they were always near the chinkapin.

Anyway, we hiked like a couple of llamas (or pack mules..take your pick) up and down ridges and into bowl like areas and finally we got to his spot (which in a million years I would NOT have found) unless I had a very good GPS unit and even then... and there they were. Just as I remembered them in CA...almost invisible with their background but growing like black petunias. It was a tough hike but well worth it with the bounty we picked. At the same time we found some yellowfoot chants and a scant few belly button hedgehogs. Yippeee...
I'm so excited to have fresh black trumpets. This winter I've been consumed by and preoccupied with black fungi. I've had black truffles on the brain for months as well as black trumpets so now it's time to celebrate. I feel a pizza coming in my near future. My two favorite mushrooms to put on pizza, yellowfoot and black trumpets. See my pizza blog right here. I think a risotto is in order real soon also! Hmm hedgehog and black trumpet risotto with truffles. I'm so spoiled!

Truffles on Steroids

2009-01-24T23:21:00.001-05:00

Leucangium brunneum the Oregon brown truffle

Look what Maggie the WONDER Dog found for me today! We only had one little training session in my living room playing hide and seek with a film canister with some Leucangium carthusianum (Oregon black truffle) inside and she did pretty well finding it hidden in the couch, behind pillows, on the book shelf etc.

So, today we took to the woods and I said "where's the truffle Maggie" "get the truffle" and within a minute she was sniffing a spot not far from where we walked in, right up to the stem of a fern and right there was a black truffle. A few minutes later she was stopped at another spot sniffing so I uncovered the spot where she sniffed and WOW look at this honker!

Leucangium brunneum

We then did some walking and I just kept my eye on her and a few minutes later she was sniffing right up against a tree so I went over to it and this is what I found poking up out of the ground!!

This one is even bigger than the first one!

This one is a bit critter eaten but they are both firm and RIPE! I have no idea what to do with them. If any of you readers out there have any experience with Oregon brown truffles, what would you suggest I make with them?

They have an entirely different aroma from white or black truffles and are quite strong smelling. Kind of a combination of broccoli cheese soup and garlic..with some cauliflower thrown in.

Good girl, Maggie, you get a BIG treat!

Oregon Cascades in Winter

2009-01-18T18:07:00.003-05:00

Truffle Season

2009-01-12T13:45:00.008-05:00

It is not hard to be totally and incurably enamored and smitten with truffles and all there is to do with truffles. I for one can't seem to get them out of my head. I want to forage for them, cook with them, read about them, grow them, you name it. I think it has to do with the mystique of this knobby little fungi that grows underground where you can't see them and have to understand your surroundings well enough to know where to look for them and then find them.

These days the best way to forage for truffles is to have a well trained dog who can sniff out the ripe truffles so you are only harvesting the cream of the crop. Here in Oregon using dogs for truffling is barely heard of and is only being done by a scant few. Hopefully in the near future this trend will catch on and more and more people will utilize the keen senses of our friend the dog who can sniff out the ripe truffles and leave the unripe to be harvested another day.

I managed to get out over the weekend with a friend and of course Maggie the Wonder Dog and forage for Oregon black truffles Leucangium carthusianum and the Oregon winter white truffle, Tuber oregonense. We managed to find some of both which made me very happy. I was quite pleased to find out that Maggie seems to have an instinctual nose for truffles as well. It wasn't like she was running around with her nose to the ground, having had no training whatsoever, but my friend was peeling back the duff in one area and gently raking to see what was under the duff and Maggie came over to a spot very near where he was working and started to sniff the ground pretty intently. He took his rake and peeled back the duff and there was a black truffle! Way to go Maggie! Now that I have some ripe truffles on hand I'm going to start a formal training program with her to try to get more results in the field.

Oregon truffles have had a bad rap for some time now due to commercial harvesters harvesting and selling unripe truffles, which in turn have been sold to distributors and ended up in stores throughout the country and sold to unsuspecting people as an inferior and unripe product.
This needs to stop. Truffles need to be at least horticulturally ripe when harvested in order to continue the ripening process at home and bring them to full ripeness for culinary uses. Too many truffles are being raked up and sold unripe and will never get ripe due to not being horticulturally ripe when picked. The only way to ensure full ripeness when picking is to have a keen truffle dog that can sniff out only the ripe ones. So, it only makes sense that if you are going to train a dog to detect ripe truffles, you only use ripe truffles while training. You would think that was a given, but you'd be surprised at what goes on out there.

Anyway, back to the truffles at hand. The lovely Oregon black truffles have an aroma unlike any other truffle I've ever smelled. Like a glass of fine red wine, you can detect hints of familiar scents. When I sniff a ripe Leucangium carthusianum I get hints of pineapple, chocolate, mango, more sweet smelling and fruity things. This truffle can be used in dessert dishes according to its ripeness. Much to the contrary with the Tuber oregonense I get a heady, earthy, garlicky, intoxicatingly rich and pungent aroma that will fill your entire house, refrigerator, freezer etc. and all its contents with its powerful yet delicious stench. (I mean that affectionately)

In the coming days I will be preparing some dishes using these truffles and will post the results here so stay tuned.

Who Doesn't love a good loaf of Jewish Rye Bread?

2008-12-25T18:08:00.005-05:00

Where I grew up as a kid we had great Jewish delicatessens in practically every big neighborhood or town. I can remember going to our local deli every week to buy a loaf or two of their rye bread. They had big machines that would slice the bread for you and then put it in the white paper bag and home you'd go with a delicious warm loaf of the best rye bread to ever pass your lips.

The crust had to be a little chewy and the color of dark honey and of course it had to have caraway seeds all throughout including the crust. If this is the kind of rye bread you long for, you can make your own. Yes, you heard me, you can make your own, but understand, any good loaf of bread can take a while to make as there can be numerous steps and it can actually take days from start to finish.

I will guide you through how I make my rye bread and then you can see if you are up to the task.

Jewish Rye Bread

Milk Sour:
1-1/2 cups buttermilk
3/4 cup medium rye flour

1. The first step is making the Milk Sour which consists of 1-1/2 cups of buttermilk let to sit out overnight in a warm place uncovered. The next morning, slowly pour in 3/4 cup of rye flour and mix with a wooden spoon until smooth and again let sit out overnight uncovered at room temperature.

The Rye Sponge:
1 pkg active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
all of the milk sour from previous step
1/4 cup rye flour
2 cups unbleached white flour

2. For the sponge, proof the yeast in the warm water. When it is creamy, after around 10 minutes, pour it and the milk sour into a large bowl. Mix in the flours, stirring until you have a batter and let the sponge sit, covered at room temperature for 4 hours until it has tripled in size and dropped. (warm place)

The Dough:
all of the sponge from the previous step
1 T salt
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 cup warm water
3 cups unbleached white flour
3 T caraway seeds

Glaze: 1 egg white and 1 teasp cold water

3. To make the dough, add the rest of the ingredients with salt being last. Add the caraway seeds and water first and then add the flour a little at a time until you can't stir anymore. Don't forget to add the salt and then pour out onto a floured board and knead the rest of the flour in until it is not sticky and gooey anymore. You will need to add more flour until you have the right consistency. *Note: This can change every time you make it depending on your weather and the amount of moisture in the air.

Let the dough rise until double in size 50-60 minutes.

Punch down and flatten out. Form a large log pushing away and under. Place it seam side down on a baking sheet sprinkled with large grain cornmeal.

Preheat oven to 400. Let loaves rise 30-40 minutes until they don't spring back quickly. Slash 3-4 times diagonally across the loaf with a razor blade and glaze the top with egg glaze. Bake 35-40 minutes and spritz the inside of the oven with a water bottle or throw 4 ice cubes and 1/4 cup of cold water onto the floor of the oven when you open it to put in the bread.

Notes: I prefer to use a bread stone (Pizza stone) instead of sheet pans as it bakes evenly and gives the bottom of the loaf a good color. If you have a pizza paddle to put the loaf on prior to placing in the oven you will have an easier time transferring the loaf. This is a big recipe so you may opt as I often do, to make two loaves with this instead of one big one.

There are three rules to baking great bread. Preheat the oven a minimum of 30 minutes before baking, use a baking stone and mist the oven in the first 10 minutes of baking.

Its Crab Season!

2008-12-21T20:50:00.004-05:00

Now that I'm back in the Pacific Northwest, I have access to the freshest seafood from the coast of Oregon and right now, its Dungeness crab season. I love all shellfish but fresh crab is hard to beat anywhere. One of my favorite things to do with crab is make crab-cakes. Not those breaded cakey things loaded with other vegetables and tons of bread crumbs, but REAL crab-cakes with tons of lump crab meat and nothing else!

Having grown up on the east coast in Delaware and gone to summer camp on the Chesapeake Bay, I grew up on blue crab which we had any number of ways. It was common in the summer to have big parties with bushel baskets of blue crab that had been cooked in a spicy "crab boil" and then thrown out onto newspaper covered picnic tables with little wooden hammers to crack the crab and then just suck down that delicious meat along with the spices from the boil which would make your lips burn just slightly. And how could I ever forget soft shelled crab sandwiches? Oh boy, when I think of the hometown foods from my childhood, I think of Chesapeake Bay blue crab, Maryland crab-cakes, Tastycakes, submarine sandwiches, cheese steak sandwiches, scrapple, Hires rootbeer, sweet Jersey corn on the cob and Herr's potato chips. For now, I will have to settle for the hometown flavors of Maryland style crab-cakes.

Here is my favorite basic recipe that comes from a great cookbook called The Chesapeake Bay Cookbook and the recipe is for Gertie's Crab Cakes. This is just too perfect a recipe to mess with so I use it entirely as is:

Gertie's Crab Cakes
1 egg
2 T mayonnaise
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
dash Tobasco sauce
1 pound picked crabmeat
1/4 cup cracker crumbs (not bread crumbs!)
Veg oil for frying

In a mixing bowl combine the egg, mayo, mustard, pepper, Old Bay, Worcestershire and Tobasco and mix until frothy.

Place the crabmeat in a bowl and pour the mixture over the top. Sprinkle on the cracker crumbs and gently toss together trying not to break up the bigger chunks. (I get saltines and grind up in the mini Cuisinart)

Form the cakes by hand into 3 inch wide and 1 inch thick rounded mounds. Do not pack the crab-cake batter together too firmly. Keep as loose as possible but still holding together.

Heat oil to 375 and fry the cakes in about a 1/2" of oil a few at a time until golden brown on both sides. About 3 minutes total and remove to paper towels to drain. Serve at once.

Black Trumpet and Yellow foot Pizza

2008-11-30T23:17:00.013-05:00

I love making pizza "from scratch" and when you have a great recipe for pizza dough, it makes all the difference in the world. I enjoy making rye bread so I don't mind the waiting and time involved with making breads and bread doughs. You certainly can't be in a hurry if you want to make pizza the right way.

This pizza is one of my all time favorites and whenever I have fresh yellow foot chanterelles (Cantharellus tubaeformis) and a good supply of black trumpets (Craterellus cornucopioides) I make it.

There is no sauce on this pizza, just caramelized sweet onions, sauteed yellow foot and black trumpets and of course a good amount of freshly grated parmesano Reggiano cheese before baking in a 500 degree oven for 10 minutes and you get one of the most delectable pizzas ever.

Pizza Dough
Pizza is only as good as the dough it's made on and that is why I rarely ever eat pizza that I didn't make myself. This is the best pizza dough recipe I've ever used and you could eat this with nothing on it and it would still be delicious.

Ingredients:
1-1/4 cups warm water
1 scant tablespoon active dry yeast
pinch sugar
3 cups all purpose flour, or more as needed (I use unbleached)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

1. Put the warm water in a mixing bowl and stir in the yeast, sugar and one cup of the flour. Set aside until foamy, 20-30 minutes. Lightly oil a clean bowl for the dough.

2. Stir in the salt and oil, then start stirring in the flour until the dough is fairly stiff. When too stiff to stir, turn it out onto a lightly floured counter and knead until the dough is smooth and shiny, about 10 minutes. Add more flour as needed. Put the dough in the oiled bowl, turn once to coat, cover with plastic wrap and set aside to rise until doubled in bulk, about an hour.

3. For pizzas, divide into 2 or 4 pieces

NOTE: I use my Kitchen Aid mixer to make the dough. I use the mixing bowl in the first step and then using the paddle blade I mix in the flour later switching to the kneading hook and let the mixer knead the dough for me for 10 minutes. I also use a pizza stone to bake on in the oven and preheat to 500 degrees. The pizza only takes 10 minutes at 500 for the bottom of the crust to be a nice toasted brown and some color on the edges as well as the cheese melted in the center.

Hello Oregon

2008-11-25T18:45:00.005-05:00

I've just recently relocated to Oregon hence the long silence and lack of activity here on my blog. Things are getting a little more settled now so perhaps I'll have more time to spend here posting new and interesting things.

I'm now fortunate enough to be in the most diverse fungal playground in the land. Not only is Oregon loaded with a plethora of wild gourmet edible mushrooms, but there are so many other wonderful foods available for foraging such as razor clams, dungeness crabs, oysters, fiddlehead ferns, sorrel and a host of other delicious things.

Since my arrival here I've been concentrating on fungal delicacies such as porcini, chanterelles, shrimp Russulas and whatever else I can find that is food worthy for the table. I've been having fun photographing a variety of mushrooms as well.

This winter I'm hoping to scope out the best spots for fly fishing for shad on the Umpqua River for this spring when the run begins but I may also get some time in with some winter steelhead fishing. My other winter "business at hand" will be truffle hunting for the elusive Tuber oregonense (Oregon winter white truffle) and Leucangium carthusianum (Oregon black truffle).

You may recall my earlier posts when I was in Oregon digging Oregon spring truffles, Tuber gibbosum. Those will come along in May and June but for now it's winter truffle season and I'd be interested in training my companion Maggie to help me find these delicacies in the woods.

A Forager's Dream Come True

2008-11-07T23:38:00.004-05:00

I've recently moved from SW Montana to the mushroom thick world of Oregon. I've felt somewhat mushroom deprived in Montana, not that we don't have mushrooms but we didn't have the shear varieties of mushrooms out there that the Pacific Northwest has on offer. I've been craving chanterelles for years since moving from Seattle and now I'm in the thick of them.

In Montana I had all the morels and Boletus edulis I could ever want and to some extent, had them all to myself. Now I'm in the holy land so to speak and I have a plethora of wild mushrooms and certainly many are wild gourmet edibles, but I surely don't have them all to myself anymore.

I'm in an adjustment phase as I'm coming from ten years living in Montana, a very dry climate, and now I'm finding myself in a very damp climate and even though the thermometer says it's not cold outside, my body says otherwise. I have awful joints (knees in particular) and this weather is wreaking havock on my body. But, I'm willing to overlook the physical nuisances for the bountiful harvests I've been having every time I go out foraging in the woods.

A Montana Wild Huckleberry Hunt

2008-08-25T21:26:00.015-04:00

When August arrives in Montana there is usually only one thing on a foragers mind and that is huckleberries! The best and most prolific area in Montana for picking huckleberries is in the northwestern portion of the state but not much farther south than Flathead Lake although huckleberries can be found all over Montana, this area is the best by far. So, Maggie the wonder dog, my friend Scott and I jumped in the car and headed for them thar hills. You know when you're getting close because the air is permeated with the sweet aroma of ripe huckleberries. Just that sweet smell in the air is enough to get your nose twitching, your tail wagging and a little drool at the corner of your mouth...well,you get my drift... it's pretty darn exciting!

The last time I came up here with Scott, I actually caught Maggie in the act of plucking ripe hucks right off the bushes so I came armed with my video camera to see if I could catch this on video. She wasn't terribly cooperative but I did get just a few seconds of her eating them off the bush before she noticed me shooting footage of her and immediately stopped and walked away! A little camera shy are we Maggie? Or are you worried your four legged friends will think poorly of you eating berries? Huckleberry Hound Either way, there were plenty for all of us to pick and eat and come home with purple fingers and tongues.

I'm trying to decide what will be the first thing I'll do with them. Last time I made ice cream, a cobbler, muffins and froze the rest. This time I'm thinking maybe some jam or syrup? I'm just not sure yet. I didn't pick as many as last time as we got a rather late start this time. Either way, I'll post whatever I decide with a photo!

Notice the different variations of huckleberries in colors and sizes etc.
huckleberry habitat
Maggie eating hucks
Maggie and Scott

see Huckleberry Hound video link above

Picking Boletes... my alltime favorite!

2008-08-01T17:42:00.002-04:00

I just love foraging for food and especially picking wild mushrooms. For the last week, my favorite mushroom of all has finally made an appearance in my mountain forests. I've been so patient this year as everything has been two full weeks behind schedule compared to the last several years. My Boletus edulis patch is no exception. I've been going up there and checking my spot since June 30th and going once a week since then and nothing until last Thursday a week ago. Finally, not only were there lots of them, but sadly, there were lots of blown out, old, fully spored and rotting ones.

Not to worry though, now that I've finally figured out how fast they can grow, I've got my finger on the pulse and won't miss any new and fresh emerging mushrooms from now on. I have to say I was amazed that I could go from no mushrooms at all of ANY kind, to full blown spored out mush in just one little week!

We had a little rain the day before I went up a week ago and then when I was there the day after that rain, I had found nothing. Then the following Tuesday, we had one of those crazy monsoon type storms that dumped a ton of rain in a matter of minutes, golf ball sized hail, sideways rain and winds up to 85 mph. When I returned to my spot just two days after that storm, I found all the boletes a person could dream of. So there you go...rain, rain rain = mushrooms!

Just to show you how much fun this is, and give an idea of the type of habitat and what these mushrooms look like, I've made a few little videos.

picking boletes video

porcini video

porcini video 3

porcini video 4

video 5

It's been a great season so far and I still have two weeks more to go! Now if only we could get a little more rain.....

Wild Mushroom and Pecan Paté

2008-07-22T15:22:00.006-04:00

This is not my own made up recipe, but it's so delicious I had to share it with everyone.

I made up a version of this last night using what I had on hand. I thawed out some duxelle I had in the freezer of oysters and A campestris, then I added some of those delicious A albolutescens, and a package of chanterelle duxelle I also found in the freezer. I had the cheese and I always have tons of farm fresh eggs since I own chickens, and picked the fresh thyme out of the garden. I ran out of pecans so had to substitute walnuts which I had on hand and the result was excellent. I usually use primarily chanterelles as I love the flavor of them but this is a really good mushroomy flavor that could have been used for ravioli stuffing or little mushroom turnovers or just about anything. When I have tons of chanterelles, I make up a loaf of this, cut it into smaller pieces once cooled and then warp in foil and freeze for use over the winter months. It keeps very well and is equally as good cold as warm. You don't have to make the beurre blanc sauce but when I take it as a dish to a potluck or party, I always include the sauce...that makes it oh so magnifique! Bon appetit!

Wild Mushroom and Pecan Paté

6 cups chopped mushrooms (a mixture of domestic, chanterelles and dried boletes)
1 cup hot water
1 onion minced
1/2 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 thyme sprig chopped
8 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese (Emmenthaler)
1 cup ground pecans

NOTE: I chop the mushrooms first in a Cuisinart and then do the onions after.

SAUCE

Reserved mushroom soaking liquid
Reserved mushroom cooking liquid
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup dry sherry, Madeira or dry white wine
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup unsalted butter chilled

Soak the dried mushrooms in the hot water for 30 minutes. Drain, reserving the soaking liquid for the sauce. Discard any tough stems. In a heavy sauté pan or skillet, cook the onion in the butter over low heat until the onion is soft. Add the mushrooms, salt and thyme. Cover, raise the heat, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring several times. Remove from the heat, transfer the mushroom mixture to a strainer and press out as much of the liquid as possible. Reserve the liquid for the sauce. Allow the mushrooms to cool. Mix them with the eggs, cheese and pecans. Add additional salt to taste. Pack into a buttered 9 by 3 inch loaf pan and cover with foil. Place the loaf pan in a larger pan containing boiling water. The water bath should come halfway up the side of the loaf pan. Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 1 hour or until the pate is firm and slightly puffed. Allow to set for 20 minutes. Meanwhile prepare the sauce.

Place the mushroom liquids into a heavy, nonreactive pan. Reduce over low heat until syrupy, with only 6 or 7 tablespoons remaining. Cut the cold butter into 8 pieces. Over low heat, stirring constantly, add 1 piece of butter at a time to the liquid mixture. If the sauce seems too tart, add more butter or cream. Unmold the pate and serve with the sauce poured over. The pate may also be served cold. Serves 8-10.

NOTE: I cut this into thick slices and freeze them individually for later use throughout the winter months. If you try to reheat the sauce it most likely will separate so just put it in a warm place to soften.

Stuffed morels

2008-07-15T17:40:00.001-04:00

I was holding on to some nice big stuffers for just this use.

I made up a stuffing I use for potstickers using: ground pork, chopped raw shrimp, spring onions, garlic, minced ginger, water chestnuts, and cilantro then bind it with one beaten egg, soy sauce, sesame oil, and oyster flavored sauce and mix it all up and stuff the morels cutting off the stem at the base of the mushroom to make the hole as big as possible. I use a chopstick to make sure the stuffing makes it all the way to the tip of the mushroom. Once they are all stuffed, I place them on a sheet pan covered with parchment paper and place in the freezer until each mushroom is individually frozen and then I transfer them to ziplock freezer bags. When I'm ready to cook them, I preheat the oven to 365 and put them on a sheet pan and straight into the oven for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes I drizzle melted butter with garlic over them and bake for an additional 5 minutes and serve. Wow, that's good eating!

Wild Trout With Morel Sauce

2008-07-14T17:55:00.004-04:00

Last weekend I went up into the foothills of the Tobacco Root Mountains to a cool little beaver pond that holds tons of nice little pan size trout.

I affectionately refer to this as the "dinner pool" for when I have out of town guests who always seem to ask if we can go catch some trout for dinner. So, I reserve this special spot for just that. So Maggie, the wonder dog and I went up the hill so to speak and caught some nice trout for din din. The flies and ants were driving me nuts so I didn't stay too long, but the fishing, as always was superb. I was armed with my 2 weight fly rod and a box of elk hair caddis which I know they can't resist. There are a lot of little tiny dinkers in these ponds but there are some decent ones too. By decent I mean 10-12" which in my opinion is the perfect size for the pan.

I decided to do the fish in a flour and cornmeal dredge and pan fry them in butter and grapeseed oil. Then I made a creamed morel sauce with madeira and cream to pour over the fish. As a side as if we needed any more fat in our diet, I did a batch of fried morels in a flour and egg dredge and finished off in ...... yes, you guessed it, more butter!

Man, that was good.... now when are those boletes going to start to pop? I'm waiting....... Bon Appetit!